With the acquisition of James Harden at the trade deadline, it’s easy to fantasize about the fit between him and Joel Embiid. Certainly, it’s the most important duo on this roster, it’s not the only one that should get Philadelphia 76ers fans excited.
One of the big takeaways from the trade was the fact that the Sixers didn’t have to give up any of their young core to acquire the former MVP from the Brooklyn Nets. That includes point guard Tyrese Maxey who has All-Star potential.
Maxey and Harden can make the 76ers extremely dangerous in this postseason. In fact, not only this postseason but in years to come as well.
Harden and Maxey make the Philadelphia 76ers dangerous in the playoffs.
Let’s be clear, the rest of the regular season will have its growing pains trying to incorporate Harden into Philly’s rotation. Harden is a ball-dominate player who should defer to Embiid as a primary option on offense.
However, how he meshes with Maxey can make the 76ers even more potent. Harden has played with score-first guards before in Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook. Granted Maxey’s already a better shooter than Westbrook ever was and far less of a diva than Irving has proven to be.
Maxey’s shown an ability at this young stage of his career to mold his game around the talent he’s playing with. With Embiid, Maxey improved his shooting and playmaking to better accommodate Embiid’s playstyle.
Maxey should be able to do that with Harden as well. On the other hand, Harden has already shown he can play off the ball at times too. Maxey in theory should make life easier for Harden. He can take over the ball-handling and scoring duties at times to help preserve the future Hall of Famer for the fourth quarter.
The Sixers essentially have a two-headed monster at the guard position. Both can create for others, attack the rim, and stretch the floor. Teams will have to pick their poison and by the time the postseason comes around, these two players should have enough time to figure out how to play with each other.
Embiid is the most important player on the Philadelphia 76ers for the playoffs, but their duo of guards will make the Sixers very potent on offense once they figure out how to play with each other.